Begin

April 24th, 2007 Daryle Dickens

Two weeks ago I began an oil painting class. This is my first venture into any sort of painting on canvas. So the basics that many take for granted are new to me. It begins with drawing in an outline of what is to be painted. Trying to define the perspective and boundaries of the image. From there blocks of color are added. Slowly piecing the work together until a picture begins to form. Thus far I’ve had a grand total of two lessons so I am still learning and I am not sure what my painting will look like when I am finished. But the process did get me to thinking about the process I’ve been going through with ZAF622.

I started with an idea, an imagine in mind of what I wanted. I picked up a blank canvas, a domain name, and started with an outline. That was back in November of 2005. It was rough but it gave me a jumping off point. The biggest challenge for me has been painting that canvas on a public stage. Many of you have been around since the beginning. And you are witness to the changes, the mess-ups, and the false starts ZAF622 has gone through. Like the oil painting I am working on, ZAF622 is constantly being tweaked and refined. All in search of the ideal work.

Even though it has been hard to do this on a stage I am glad that I began. I know that if I waited until I had it all figured out, all refined, all perfected, I never would have began. Here I am on interview #16 and ZAF622 continues to gain momentum. I still screw up, still mix the colors wrong, still hit dead ends, and still sometimes want to give up on it. I know that will always be the case. And I also know that more and more people are reading ZAF622, and more and more people believe in ZAF622. I also know that I do get better with each issue. I get closer and closer to my goals with ZAF622. And I know I am going to continue on and see this thing through to the end.

Thank you for sticking with me. Thank you for your kind words. I am not sure what the canvas will look like when I can finally say “finished.” That is not the point. I am learning a lot and growing a lot. And most importantly I am meeting a lot of people and making many new friends. For me that is what life is about. So “Thank You” and stay tuned.

Posted in Art, Creativity | No Comments »

5 AM

April 6th, 2007 Daryle Dickens

Jobs are great for paying the bills, keeping us fed, and making sure we have a roof over our heads. But they can really get in the way of getting to the things we want to do. Especially art. After spending all day on the clock doing what ever it is we do it can be quite a challenge to come home and find the energy to get in the studio and start creating. I know this is a common struggle for many artists. And a common solution offered in the area of productivity is to simply start your day earlier. So that is what I have been attempting to do.

For about six weeks now I have been waking up at 4:55AM. This has been quite a challenge for me. I am about the farthest from a morning person you will find. In a perfect world I would stay up until 2AM-ish and wake up around 10 or 11AM. That seems to be how I was built.  It has been tough to say the least. The real question though is has it been more productive? I think that it is starting to be.

The thinking behind getting up so early has to do with control. Typically we all start off with more control of our day and gradually as the day goes on we lose that control. By waking up earlier we have more hours that we are in control of. And those hours can be used to get the things done that we really want to get done. Before people and distractions invade our day.

I admit that even after 6 weeks I am still adjusting to waking up at 5AM. And some days I am not able to function when I wake up so not much gets done. But most days I am able to get a lot of things done before the world hits me at about 6:45. For me I have found it a good time to get writing done. As well as planning and putting thought into my day. That alone has helped me be more productive.

So as hard as it may be I am finding that waking at 5AM is worth it.

Posted in Productivity | No Comments »